Russian Missiles Hit Odessa, Ukraine as Greek PM Mitsotakis Visits

The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his advisors were met by Russian missiles as they arrived in Odessa, Ukraine for an official visit.

Mitsotakis was about to meet the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky when an explosion hit the city center a few hundred yards from the Greek delegation. State Minister Stavros Papastavrou has confirmed to Greek media that there are no injuries among the Greek delegation following the blast.

Ballistic missiles have been hitting Odessa today, where Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly arrived earlier today to meet Zelensky.

It is a city of tremendous importance for Greek history, as it is the place where the Greek Revolution was planned. pic.twitter.com/l7E99seznL

— Niko Efstathiou (@NikoEfst) March 6, 2024

According to the videos and information published on X and Telegram, around 11 o’clock local time on Wednesday, there was a warning of an air attack in Odessa, after which two loud explosions were heard, and it is not clear whether it was ballistic missiles or drones.

Greece Stands with Ukraine, Mitsotakis says

The visit of Mitsotakis to Odessa and the meeting with Zelensky, for security reasons, were not officially announced.

“My presence here reflects the respect of the entire free world for your people and underlines Greece’s commitment to remain by your side,” Mitsotakis told Zelensky in his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

During the talks, the Greek PM reiterated Greece’s continuing support to Ukraine, and the steadfast support of the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic prospect. He also underlined Greece’s interest in contributing to the rebuilding of Ukraine, especially of Odessa, which city carried a particular importance for Greece due to its history and culture.

The two leaders also reviewed other sectors of collaboration, including energy and Greece’s role as a supply corridor to Europe and the Balkans.

“We discussed what other means we can use to expand the security space in the Black Sea. How we can add protection to our people – both military and civilian. We need more air defense,” Zelensky said.

Odessa is frequently targeted by Russian missiles and drones. On Saturday 12 people were killed, including five children, after a Russian drone attack on an apartment block.

Mitsotakis and Zelensky then the building complex and they laid flowers at a monument honoring the dead.

Greece joined the Group of Seven (G7) joint declaration on security commitments for Ukraine in August 2023. Later that month, Zelensky attended the first Ukraine-Balkan summit in Athens, where he met with Balkan leaders to coordinate European and Euro-Atlantic integration, defense cooperation, and security.

In late January, Zelensky said he discussed Ukraine’s defense needs with Mitsotakis, “especially in terms of air defense and artillery.”

Ukraine’s Odessa, and its historic links to Greece

The Filiki Eteria Museum in Odessa is a beacon of Hellenism, housed as it is in the very place where the Greek War of Independence was conceived and planned.

The former Kresnij Pereulok Street home of Greek businessman and national benefactor Grigorios Maraslis (1831-1907), the mayor of Odessa between 1878 and 1895, was where the secret society — much like the Sons of Liberty in the American colonies– hatched the plans that would come to fruition in the Revolution.

It was in this home that the founders of Filiki Eteria (Φιλική Εταιρία), or the Society of Friends —Emmanuil Xanthos, Athanasios Tsakalov and Nikolaos Skoufas — vowed to revolt against the Ottomans who had ruled Greece for almost 400 years.

Greece is also linked to Odessa via the Opera House, which had been built when the city’s mayor was Maraslis.

In a recent visit to Odessa, the then-Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias vowed to coordinate efforts to make the historic center of Odessa a cultural monument protected by UNESCO, a World Heritage monument, creating in this way a cultural shield that will protect this historic center from the repercussions of the war.

“A centre that is linked to Greece, chiefly because this is where the Greek Revolution began,” Dendias said.

In January 2023 the World Heritage Committee inscribed the Historic Centre of the city of Odessa on the World Heritage List.

This decision “is a successful outcome of coordinated efforts, in which the Greek side took the lead, as a member of the Committee -in coordination with Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Japan- to immediately respond to Ukraine’s request for the city’s protection, especially under the current war conditions prevailing in the region,” noted the Greek Foreign ministry at the time.

The Historic Centre of Odessa has also been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, which could provide Ukraine with extra technical and financial international assistance for its protection, but also for its repair – in the event of damages incurred by the war.